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Everything posted by leggasiini

IS-3A also isn't a turretless TD with top speed of 26kph, and it has autoloader without the downside of the autoloader so even if it misses half of it's shells it doesnt matter.. Not to mention it has laser shell velocity that slightly compensates the awful accuracy.

Okay, what we have here is an absolutely fucking idiotic design. I can already tell that this is going to be absolutely awful to play, more so than other slow as fuck turretless TD:
0.44 accuracy, wtf? It's only 0.04 more than SU-152 derp. It can't even play mid ranges properly, let alone snipe.
It's turretless and slow, which always sucks ass.
Ridiculous casemate armor and apparently has a LFP weakspot makes me think it plays like tier 8 E3...or it's supposed to play like that.
...yet it has -5 gun depression (wtf)
It has 400 alpha which isnt very good but it has ridiculous DPM.
So how the fuck will this thing play? It has no turret, it's slow, it can't even outtrade a lot of heavies because of alpha and it has LFP weakspot (or well, supposed to have). Fighting up close, which is what this thing is supposed to do (apparently) is going to be so wonky with this thing. T95 and E3 can, because of 750 alpha, and T28 can also do it to an extend because of it's weakspots being small. So one would think that you play this thing like E3 (or more accurately, like Badger), aka sit in a ridgeline, use your casemate armor and good firepower. Thing is, problem with Badger is that it will shoot once and it's target will never push it after that. E3 at least has alpha. This thing is like Badger...but with -5 gun dep, so you also need extremely specific positioning, and then you have this fucking abysmal accuracy stat. The accuracy means it can't use DPM from middle ranges unless RNG favors you, and slow, casemated platform with LFP weakspot means it can't use it up close either unless it can actually push a tank head on. And it's obviously a terrible sniper, not to mention it's taller than T28 which would imply that it has shit camo. Ridiculous.
And this is without taking into account the fact that it's a tier 8 that will meet a lot of tier 10s and the moment it does it's completely fucking useless. It can't brawl, it can't snipe, it's just stupid.
Oh and to add extra idiotic thing to the mix, it has extended sprockets like T28 so you cant even permatrack and damage it.
So it's a slow as fuck casemate TD with gun that has abysmal accuracy for 400 alpha but minmaxed DPM so it's situationally strong but only with RNG, that also has -5 gun depression, probably bad gun arc and shit. It takes the classic "unfun to play, unfun to play against" to whole fucking new level. How the fuck is this thing supposed to be enjoyable to play? And this is coming from a mongol who enjoys superheavies and 3 marked the TOG.
They literally just slapped random stats and called it a day. They already did that with the IS-3A, looks like thats the direction with new prems.

This review is originally done for official forums and Reddit. While Wotlabs community is sadly dying, I am still loyal to this place, especially considering that my reviews and their formats originated from here . So I'll bring you the review here, as well. I copy pasted it from forums with some minor changes, so if the format seems crappy, let me know.
Anyway, you kurwas, enjoy!
The Polish line review
Siema PL!!!!11
Since the Polish high-tiers were announced, my interest in this line immediately grew up. I adore high-alpha guns and slow, heavily armored tanks, especially if they look stupid and goofy. And that's exactly what the 60TP Lewandowskiego is. I already promised myself twice already that I would never make a "grind-marathon" like I did with Swedish HTs and French 2nd HT line back in 2016 and 2017, respectively. But I couldn't resist it. I had to get the tank ASAP and since I haven't done stuff regarding the "improved and expanded" Japanese tech tree in a long while either (although, slowly but surely I have been working on Japanese MT rework + 2nd MT line proposal, which is actually technically finished when it comes to all material, but there are things I want to improve and change on it. Don't expect it anytime soon in near future). Then test server came, I played more games in it than any other test server ever (this includes even the 9.10 test server that brought Japanese heavies). When patchday came, I grinded like a crazy. Literally non-stop. Ugh. I got the 60TP in Sunday - only 4 days after the patchday. I grinded all way from tier 5, although I did use free XP on modules and at one tank. And...here we are.
Since there is going to a gigantic wall of text, a TL;DR is a reasonable option and I recommend to check that if you are not willing to sit and spend some time to read the review.
Anyway, let's begin.
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Like I already said, I used quite a bit of a free XP on the grind. I skipped tier 1-4 entirely, skipped most of the stock grinds (only modules I grinded were the tracks of the tier 8 and turret + tracks of the tier 9) and skipped half of the tier 6 with free XP. However, other than that, I grinded the tanks without using free XP.
I never played the tier 1-4, as lowtiers are well...lowtiers, I don't personally give a damn about them and generally haven't even featured them on some of my reviews, but I'll just say short impressions what I think about them when looking at their stats:
4TP: It's a tier 1. I can't even really rate it since tier 1 is such a mess and anyone has free XP to skip to tier 2, but it seems okay-ish for tier 1 so I guess it's something.
7TP: It has the biggest historical value of the line, but that's about it. Extremely generic overall, has pretty good alpha but pretty crap armor so autocannons will eat you from alive and it's not particularly mobile. It offers really nothing when it comes to gameplay so it's a pass. Weak armor without exceptionally good gun kinda hurts, though. 5/10
10TP: Much like the Chi-Ha. Has quite a bit better mobility but way worse gun (other than gun handling that is slightly better), worse view range and worse gun depression (although -12 is still great). It's playable, but it's mediocre at best. 5.5/10
14TP: Has two gun options - 40mm autocannon and 47mm single-shot. Don't use the 47mm, it's absolutely terrible - it's only a marginal improvement from the tier 3, which makes it just awful at tier 4. 40mm Pompom has good clip potential, but mediocre pen and awful aim time, especially compared to the Covenanter. In fact, this tank as whole is just a terrible Covenanter. Also the stock gun is absolutely abysmal - try to save free XP to skip past it. It has less than 40mm pen, at tier 4. Yes. 3.5/10
Basically lowtiers are bad and/or uninteresting so you can just skip through them if you want. You won't miss anything.
25TP KSUST II (tier V)
First MT of the line, the 25TP is where the transition to later vehicles can be seen. It has good alpha damage, good gun depression angles and alright turret armor. It still has LT-like features such as high top speed, which gives it rather unusual combination of good top speed, high alpha damage and good penetration.
Protection
+ Turret armor is surprisingly thick for it's tier.
- Generally has no armor, hull is HE pennable
- Awful HP pool like all non-premium tier 5 MTs.
- Very large silhouette, easy to hit
- Terrible camo for it's tier/class. Has around 10% base camo - which actually isn't that much better than
Overall protection: 3/10 (very bad)
Just like majority of tier 5 MTs, the survivability of the 25TP is awful. One mistake and you can die in seconds because of the low HP pool and lack of armor. Not just that, the 25TP is the longest of all tier 5 MTs and one of the tallest as well. Camo is also surprisingly bad for it's class. And while the 25TP has slightly above average armor for a tier 5 MT, it isn't enough to protect it from derps and arty (especially LeFH) pens, so it's easy to oneshot.
Firepower
+ Above average alpha damage at 135.
+ Reasonably good penetration at 135 / 175.
+ Good shell velocity for a tier 5.
+ Great gun depression (-10)
- Absolutely terrible aim time.
- Bloom values are horrendous even for a tier 5.
- Horrible gun elevation.
Overall firepower: 6.5/10 (average)
On paper, the gun seems really good. Good pen + good alpha, and the DPM isn't even that bad. It also gets good shell velocity and good premium rounds. Unfortunately, the gun handling is a gigantic let down. The aim time is abysmal, and the bloom is some of the worst in the entire tier. Since the 25TP is also very quick, the effective bloom is even worse. Combined with large size, the 25TP heavily struggles at close ranges because it takes far too long to aim your shot. By the time the you are fully aimed...you are most likely already dead. Because of this, the 25TP is forced to snipe most of the time. Fortunately, the gun isn't too awful at long ranges. However, while not bad, the base accuracy can be somewhat disappointing at long ranges. At least it has -10 gun depression, which nice. However, the gun elevation is +10, which is pretty awful.
The gun is overall decent but a rather big disappointment because it seems very good on paper.
Mobility
+ Very good top speed and reverse speed.
+ Great power to weight ratio, can hit +50 km/h on flat ground.
+ Excellent turret traverse speed.
- Somewhat mediocre terrain resistances, which means that it will take quite long until the 25TP reaches the max speed.
Overall mobility: 8/10 (very good)
Mobility is great, among the best in class and very much like the T-34. It can reach positions very quickly, and relocate very effectively. It does have rather lacking terrain resistances so it still somewhat struggles to reach the top speed, though. However, going 50 km/h rather consistently makes it still more mobile than most mediums in the tier.
Other
- ABSOLUTELY HORRENDOUS STOCK GRIND - you need to gather 10k XP on almost unplayable configuration.
Stock gun is the 40 mm autocannon with 52 mm AP penetration and 84 mm APCR penetration. Your premium round is worse than standard round of the Matilda IV and you see tier 7s. And you have to get tracks, turret AND then the 7.5cm to make the tank even remotely playable.
And you need to grind almost 10k XP in that configuration.
Nice meme.
Equipment, crewskills, etc.
Rammer + Vents + Binocs
Rammer and Vents to boost gun stats, Binocs because the view range is lacking just like most other tier 5s, so running Optics is generally not optimal. 25TP is rather campy, anyway, so Binocs work just fine. GLD is a valid option over Vents, but generally the all around minor buff is more useful than aim time buff.
You should get Sixth Sense ASAP, as the 25TP has poor HP pool so you WANT to know when you get spotted. Camo is also useful considering you are often sniping and it makes the crappy camo a bit less unbearable. Smooth Drive, Snapshot and BiA can make the godawful gun handling slightly less unbearable.
How to play it
I initially thought that you can play this tank aggressively - rush into ridgeline, poke and slap people for 135. However, I was wrong. The 25TP has simply too awful gun handling to this, and the durability is not good enough - you die far too easily because of the HP pool and huge size. Not to mention that while the alpha is good, you still have to shoot enemies multiple times. Because of this, you have to expose yourself way too often, so you can get killed very quickly. I figured out that playing this tank like a turreted TD is more effective, but accuracy and camo can be a letdown in this role. Still, I found that to be the most effective playstyle.
The good speed allows you to take a position quickly. Abusing bushes is recommended, but keep in mind that that the 25TP is not a T67 so you are much easier to spot. Keeping the engagement as long as possible can somewhat fix this, but the accuracy can be somewhat wonky at these kinds of ranges. Fortunately, your penetration and shell velocity are quite good. If you see that there is nothing to shoot from your position, use your great mobility to relocate into another one.
Of course, you still have a turret so a proper MT playstyle is "possible", it's just that it doesn't work as well and you need to be extremely careful with this kind of play. Generally at mid-end game you want to move up anyway to get some damage off. 25TP has very good mobility so this is certainly possible.
Overall opinion about the vehicle
Meh.
I had rather high expectations for this tank, because it's really quick + has -10 gun depression + has good gun on paper. I didn't factor the huge size and godawful gun handling, so the tank was quite disappointing to me. It's just a tier 5 so it's not that big of a deal, but still. It's not terrible like some people say, it just can't fight up close at all. It's a sniper, or lets say, a crappy T67 with slightly better durability and alpha damage. It's not very exciting to play.
Also WG, please fix the godawful stock grind. How the hell are you supposed to get almost 10 000 XP with a gun that has 52 mm penetration???? I understand that stock tanks have to be bad, but there's a big difference between "bad" and "nearly unplayable".
At least the tank looks really hilarious.
Overall rating: 6/10 (average)
40TP Habicha (tier VI)
This tank is the perfect definition of "heavium". It takes attributes of medium tanks and heavy tanks and combines them together.
...the worst attributes, that is. I present you: the 40TP, or how I like to call it, the tier 6 AMX 65t.
Protection
+ Turret armor is decently thick, can bounce lowtiers.
+ Frontal armor is good enough not to get HE penned and may bounce some lower tiers.
- Frontal armor is flat; hull armor is quite useless against some tier 5s, and basically every tier 6-8.
- Poor side armor, gets HE penned by derps, LeFHs and some higher tier large-caliber arties (so oneshots are possible).
- Turret is flat, cupola is pennable by KV-2 HE and the turret roof is overmatchable by almost everything the 40TP faces so the turret armor is in reality very unreliable.
- HP pool is fairly mediocre (750)
- Large for a medium tank, easy to hit.
- Mediocre camo.
Overall protection: 4/10 (bad)
Tier 6 MT's are not known for their protection. Most of them are flat out paper, and at best they have "troll" armor like the P43 bis. 40TP's protection isn't too bad for a tier 6 MT, but it's still overall bad. It won't bounce much at all, unless you're "somehow" facing tier 4s (I never saw them, unsurprisingly) and some tier 5s. HP pool is quite mediocre, especially considering most other big tier 6 MTs like Chi-To and VK 30.02 M packs +800 HP. Oh and poor camo doesn't make things any better.
Protection is bad, but it's a medium, so it's all fine, right?
Firepower
+ 240 alpha is very good for it's tier, best in class among with P43 bis. Can outtrade some higher tier MTs and LTs.
+ Reasonably decent penetration, which coupled with alpha does give a good punch for the 40TP.
+ -8 depression is solid; gun depression at least won't be problematic.
- Poor accuracy.
- Awful aim time and poor gun handling. This coupled with accuracy makes the gun atrocious at range.
- Poor DPM and rate of fire. Makes the gun overall very unreliable.
Overall firepower: 5.5/10 (below average)
Alpha is always nice, you can outtrade most mediums and even some heavies at tier 6. 40TP's pen is solid, unlike on the P43 is (another tier 6 MT with 240 alpha), and also unlike the Italian, it's shell velocity isn't awful, although it's still not spectacular. However, the gun stats are a letdown - it's very wonky and can be frustrating, especially at long ranges, so it's best at close-range combat. DPM is significantly lower than on the P43 bis, which also hurts because the HP pool is poor, so you can get killed by tanks with higher DPM quite easily once they rush you. Alpha is king, but the gun stats are among worst in class so even with great alpha the gun is mediocre at best.
Mobility
+ Top speed isn't too bad... I guess?
- 11 hp/ton. Yes. 11 GOD DAMN HORSEPOWER PER TON. O-Ni, a giant fatass super-heavy with literally the worst camo in the game, has better hp/ton. Just let that sink in.
- Top speed is a lie, realistic top speed is about 30 km/h.
- Turns like a boat. Medium tank, you said?
- Awful acceleration. Basically feels like a super-heavy when it comes to acceleration.
Overall mobility: 3/10 (very bad)
And this is what kills it all. The mobility. We are talking about a medium tank that randomly for no reason has HP/ton that is only acceptable on a very tanky heavy tank or TD. This mobility makes the other traits of the tank significantly worse in reality - the true survivability is very poor because it has no mobility to run away and it takes forever for the 40TP to relocate. It dies quickly when caught in the open as the armor, while good for a medium, is still overall poor. The poor HP pool compounds it's survivability even further. Similarly, the 40TP has the kind of gun that works well at close range and it would work well on either something that has good armor or something that is fast. Since 40TP isn't well armored, you would expect it to move well, but it doesn't. The gun just doesn't work on a platform like this most of the time, so the effective firepower is also awful.
Other
- Awful stock grind, EVEN slower when stock and it doesnt even get alpha when stock.
- Poor view range.
If it wasn't awful enough, it also has laughably bad stock grind. Since it gets the gun from the tier 5, it's arguably a downgrade. The 25TP would be a better tier 6 than the stock 40TP. Oh and view range is bad, too, because why the heck not.
Equipment, crewskills, etc.
Rammer + Vents + Optics
or
Rammer + Vents + GLD
Rammer is mandatory for obvious reasons. Vents is helpful to boost the shitty accuracy and handling a little bit. Optics is preferred if your crew is very good and/or if you use food as well, since the 40TP, despite the poor view range, can hit close to max view range if you got everything. GLD is also viable since aim time is 2.7 seconds, which is just awful.
Sixth Sense is mandatory like with almost every tank. Both repairs and camo are useful crew skills for the 40TP. Being able to repair tracks helps with survivability, but having camo can also be beneficial since sometimes you have no other options than snipe, and it's helpful just to make the shitty camo a little bit worse. Having view range skills and BiA is recommended if one wants to run optics and have reasonably decent view range.
Because the top speed is okay and power to weight ratio is laughably low, running 100/105-octane gasoline is legitimately a valid option over fire extinguisher to make the mobility a bit more bearable. It's still by far the slowest MT with that...but at least you have higher hp/ton than the tallest tank in the entire game.
How to play it
If you have enough free XP, you use it to skip this piece of trash.
If not, then try to play this thing like...a slow heavy with wonky gun, less HP and no meaningful armor. You can't play this thing like a medium or even like a heavium, just forget about that. Follow heavies, let them take hits, and poke only when they are reloading or are not focusing on you. This tank works best when you can use corners and just peek, shoot and retreat. Focus on tanks with poor armor, so you have to aim less and therefor expose yourself less. 40TP can just melt really quickly if it doesn't have cover, so avoid going into open areas. Using ridges can work, but arties can eat you for breakfast since you combine MT HP pool and HT mobility, and it doesn't help that the most dangerous arties in the game tier-for-tier sit at tier 5-6.
If you get a match where you happen to meet tier 4s, you "can" play it like a heavy, but other than that...no. Support role it is. Oh and avoid KV-2/O-I at all cost. They can overmatch your side with AP, and the front is flat and can be penned by AP as well. Not just that, entire side is easily pennable by HE and the KV-2 can also pen your cupola as well with HE.
Despite the fact the tank is terrible, it's rather simple to play, at least.
Overall opinion about the vehicle
Giant piece of fucking shit. It's a tier 6 AMX 65t. Poor hull armor, questionable turret armor, large size, gun that seems okay on paper but in reality flops hard because of the faults of the tank, and mobility that should be medium tank levels is barely better than super-heavies for no reason.
Oh, fun fact (and small rant) - this tank used to have way better hp/ton on supertest at whopping 17 hp/ton. Hell, even the original supertest post had description "The tank is relatively fast as it can quickly accelerate to its maximum speed of 50 km/h and sustain it thanks to a power-to-weight ratio of 17.4 hp per ton." Other stats were more or less exactly the same as they are now. Why the heck it suddenly has godawful HP/ton for no good reason? This tank is literally balanced around the old HP/ton - if it had it, it would be a perfectly balanced vehicle. But it isn't. There's no way it would have been OP, not even close.
Why? Simple - this tank is an intentional free XP pit. It's not an accident, it's BLATANTLY OBVIOUS. WG nerfed the HP/ton to make the tank sh*t and unfun to play, so people are more likely to free XP it. Not just that, it has an awful stock grind (also just look at the tier 5 stock grind and tier 4 stock gun). And as an icing of the cake, they put in a free XP conversion event right when the tree is released. This is the most obvious example in the game's history that you, WG, intentionally make some tanks worse just to make people free XP past it. Just no. Remember, greed is not good. I know you want money, but cmon.
/rant
But this tank is terrible. It's fucking awful, it's the worst tier 6 MT in the game by far and IMO a good candidate for the worst tank in the entire tier. At least Churchill GC has a good gun. This doesn't. Playing it reminded me from the same torturing experience that was the AMX 65t grind. Only difference is that it's shorter and it's not stuck in tier 8 MM, so that's something.
To give a good perspective how awful this thing is, my DPG with Chi-To is 1200. Chi-To, IMO, is already one of the worst MTs in the tier. With this thing, my DPG is...900. I have higher DPG with several tier 5s than this thing.
Jesus christ.
Overall rating: 2.5/10 (extremely bad)
45TP Habicha (tier VII)
First "heavy" tank of the branch, 45TP is somewhat similar to it's predecessor. It however gets an all around improvement, especially to it's mobility as the acceleration is now significantly better. In addition, 45TP has a gun with good alpha + pen, but poor accuracy and shell velocity, reasonably decent mobility with somewhat limiting top speed and armor that can actually bounce something. More or less a faster but otherwise notably nerfed T29.
Protection
+ Turret is thick and well angled, can reliably bounce any gun with sub-180mm pen.
+ Upper glacis is well angled and can bounce lower tier vehicles.
+ Side profile is quite small for heavy.
- Poor HP pool at 1200. Worst in class.
- Hull armor is overall quite weak and is practically useless against guns with+170mm pen.
- Very weak side armor, large caliber HE shells can pen it.
- Turret is not perfect - 190mm penetration is enough to go through the area around the gun.
- Somewhat prone to ammorack damage.
Overall protection: 5/10 (below average)
45TP can bounce tier 5s, some tier 6s and if hulldown, tier 7s. However, outside from that, the hull armor is not very useful. Turret can bounce some shots, especially when hulldown, but some same-tier vehicles can still pen it. Side armor is just good enough not to get overmatched by most tanks, so you "can" sidescrape if you angle as little as possible. Other than that, though, the side armor is pathetic and some large caliber derps can still pen it. What hurts the most is the HP pool - 1200 is the worst in class. Japanese heavies can 4-shot, even 3-shot you with highrolls, IS can 3-shot you if he highrolls a bit (lol), and some hightier guns like 560 alpha 128/130 mm guns can 2-shot you with highrolls. HP pools also means that arties can wreck you rather quickly.
Overall, the 45TP's armor can be bouncy, but is generally unreliable. The poor HP pool is what makes the overall survivability a letdown, especially for a HT.
Firepower
+ Good alpha damage, outtrades any same-tier medium.
+ Above average penetration, enough to go through the front of the O-Ni
+ Reasonably decent gun handling.
- Poor accuracy.
- Awful shell velocity. This combined with bad accuracy makes the gun poor at long range.
- Premium ammo has lackluster penetration compared to the standard ammo, giving only 30mm penetration boost while being APCR instead of AP, which means worse normalization.
Overall firepower: 6/10 (average)
Basically a slightly worse version of T29's gun. Slightly worse pen, worse shell velocity and gun handling (base values are better but the 45TP can't mount VStabs), for a bit better DPM. Alpha allows you to outtrade mediums and some heavies. However, 320 isn't amazingly special at the tier - there are other heavies with 320 alpha, and there are even some with 390 alpha. Penetration is at least decent and gun handling is rather decent so the gun works at close range, but is very mediocre at long range.
All in all, the gun is suited for brawling and is very average for a tier 7 heavy.
Mobility
+ Good power to weight ratio, accelerates very quickly and maintains the top speed reliably.
- Top speed can be somewhat limiting; the tank would definitely go more than 35kph.
Overall mobility: 6.5/10 (average)
Mobility is overall fairly average for a heavy. It has great power to weight ratio and thus climbs hills well and has quick acceleration. Unfortunately, this isn't as useful as it is on paper because of the top speed. The tank is not quick enough to be a true heavium, hence why the high hp/ton is less useful in practise and the overall mobility is still fairly average. It has fairly average traverse speed and reverse speed as well.
Other
+ Less harsh stock grind than earlier tanks. The stock gun isn't amazing but it's significantly better than what you had on earlier tiers.
- Poor view range.
- Can't mount VStabs like T29.
Stock gring at least is easier than earlier tanks, though it's still not very good. View range, again, is lacking. The 45TP has better gun handling than T29, but since it can't mount VStabs, the gun handling is actually worse in practice.
Equipment, crewskills, etc.
Rammer + Vents + Optics (good crew)
or
Rammer + Vents + GLD / Binocs (bad crew)
View range is rather poor so Optics is generally not worth it unless your crew is pretty good (BiA + at least one view range skill). However, first setup is no doubt the best if your crew is good. If not, run either GLD or Binocs. GLD isn't super helpful because the aim time is already rather good, hence why Binocs is an option. Combination of Rammer + GLD + Optics isn't recommended since Vents is just more useful than GLD because of the aim time.
Basic heavy tank skills are recommended, I.E repairs, Sixth Sense etc, and camo is not useful at all. Get view range skills (Situational Awareness + Recon (Situational Awareness first!)) and BiA ASAP if you wan't to run Optics. Safe Storage is recommended because of the ammorack damage.
How to play it
Playstyle is relatively straightforward. Plays like the tier 6 (except it's actually capable of doing something). Follow more tanky heavies and support them. The 45TP does best when it has a meatshield that takes hits for you, since your own HP is limited, which means you have to use it wisely. Try to trade with tanks that have lower alpha than you. Don't really expect to bounce most of the time - armor is there just as an extra. Hulldown strats work well, but remember that you're not a T29 that can just go in, hulldown and bounce tier 9s cus lul T29. Your turret isn't that amazing. You can go with your mediums and support them, since opposing mediums are easier to outtrade than heavies. However, the 45TP has rather limited top speed. It can't really play like a proper heavium and the poor accuracy + velocity further hurts this kind of play. The 45TP can sidescrape, but only with extremely careful angling - overangle a little and you will get penned no problem even by lower tiers.
When, and ONLY when you're top tier, you can play like a true heavy tank. The armor is very good VS tier 5s and some tier 6s, so you can just push and faceroll lower tier vehicles - just be careful with your paper side armor, since even tier 5s have no issues on penning it.
KV-2 and Japanese HTs are still scary because your HP is low and your side is pennable by HE rather easily. Some hightier arties can pen your side and oneshot you, if they get lucky.
Overall opinion about the vehicle
Honestly, I expected another sh*thole but the tank was better than I thought. It's still not a great, though. I have rather mediocre stats with it (less than 1.4k DPG, although that is partially because of certain "complications" (such as playing on laptop during a cardrive without a proper table as well as disconnecting twice and doing 0 damage due to internet issues - I had over 1.5k which was my goal), but regardless, it's playable for sure. Ooor maybe it just felt good because tier 6 is just...awful. Regardless, the tank does need a buff to an extend - just buff top speed to 40 km/h and HP pool to 1350 or even 1300 and it's competitive enough.
Overall rating: 5.5/10 (below average)
53TP Markowskiego (tier VIII)
53TP is a step-up from the 45TP. The tank is starting to be more like the higher tier vehicles - turret armor is now truly great, the alpha damage is starting to be especially notable and it has surprisingly good accuracy and gun handling. However, the 53TP retains the higher mobility of the 45TP - in fact, the mobility is actually improved. In addition, the hull armor is quite unusual to the line - the upper plate is weaker than lower plate. This means that the entire front is thick enough to make the tank completely immune to lower tier vehicles, but in return is quite useless against higher tiers. The 53TP is like a good mix of the IS-3, VK 45 02 A and it's premium counterpart, 50TP prototyp.
Protection
+ Great turret armor, can bounce even tier 10s (especially when they don't fire premium).
+ Lacks the overmatch weakspot on the turret like it's main competitor, 50TP prototyp.
+ Turret is mounted very far in the front which enables you to reverse sidescrape when needed.
+ Lacks lower plate weakspot; front is immune to anything with less than 180mm pen. Excellent at bullying lowtiers.
- Poor HP pool (1450).
- Overall frontal hull armor is poor since most of the time you face tier 8, 9 and 10 tanks and they can go through it no problem most of the time.
- Cupola is bigger than on the 50TP prototyp.
- Side armor is still relatively weak and lacks the "blackhole" armor that many Russian tanks have on their sides
- Rather tall and long silhouette.
Overall protection: 6/10 (average)
Frontal hull is very effective against lower tiers but lacks usability against same- and higher tier vehicles. Turret armor is great and can bounce even higher tier vehicles, which makes the 53TP very well capable of going hulldown. Turret is mounted very far in the front which allows you to poke corners effectively, or alternatively reverse sidescrape rather well. HP pool is lacking, though. This combined with long and tall silhouette means that the 53TP can die rather quickly if caught in the open. The survivability is an improvement over the tier 7, but it's still not particularly good
Firepower
+ Great alpha damage of 420 blaze it .Can outtrade most heavies and mediums in the tier.
+ Great DPM, especially for the alpha. Reloads faster than the IS-3, even though the IS-3 has lower alpha.
+ Good accuracy.
+ Excellent gun handling for the alpha.
+ 122mm caliber allows it to overmatch higher tier Swedish TDs.
+ Good gun depression.
- Somewhat mediocre AP penetration and poor premium penetration.
- Aim time is rather poor, although it's better than other heavies with 390-440 alpha, and great dispersion values somewhat compensate it.
Overall firepower: 9/10 (excellent)
The gun is just amazing. You got great alpha, good DPM and good gun handling. You can not just outtrade people, but also out-DPM them. Outreloading and outtrading IS-3s is beyond hilarious. Gun has great snapshot capabilities as well, especially at close and mid-long ranges. Accuracy is good enough to reliably hit weakspots at close ranges, and unlike the 50TP prototyp, the gun rarely goes full potato mode. In fact, other than 20 less alpha (difference is barely noticeable since 420 alpha is still great), 53TP flat out trashes 50TP prototyp in terms of overall firepower. The only downside is (premium) pen which can be annoying thanks to tier 8 MM, but thankfully the 53TP has perks to work around with it and pen is way less problematic than what it seems like on paper, as long as you try to avoid fighting super-heavies head on.
Mobility
+ Above average top speed of 40 km/h, just quick enough to play somewhat like a heavium.
+ While worse than it's predecessor, the HP/ton is still fairly decent and at least good enough to reach the top speed.
+ Good reverse speed for it's class (16 km/h), can get into cover pretty quickly.
- Rather poor traverse speed.
Overall mobility: 7/10 (good)
Mobility is pretty good for a heavy. Top speed is among the higher end of the tier, and the 53TP has just enough hp/ton to reach it. 53TP can play like a heavium to an extend, although keep in mind that it can still struggle to keep up with many mediums due to the top speed. Reverse speed is also good, which allows the 53TP to retreat very well for a heavy tank. The traverse speed is fairly lacking, though, especially when compared to the 50TP prototyp.
Other
- Awfully long and tedious stock grind.
We go back to torturing stock grinds with the 53TP. You need to research turret, tracks, a completely useless 122 mm D-25T clone, and only THEN you can research the top 122 mm gun. You have the 45TPs 105mm when stock, which while its not completely awful due to the improved gun stats, is still a bit lacking with only 220ish gold pen in current tier 8 matchmaking. Stock turret also has a lot worse armor than the top one so there's that. The 122 mm D-25T is literally worthless, it's inferior to the stock gun so don't use it. I seriously feel like WG literally threw the gun there to make the stock grind even worse, which would encourage players even further to buy gold and convert free XP. I mean, why else would they force you to research a gun that is inferior to the stock gun? Disgusting.
Equipment, crewskills, etc.
Rammer + VStabs + Optics
or
Rammer + VStabs + Vents.
First two are mandatory on any heavy tank. As the 53TP has kinda average 370 m view range, whether you want to use Vents or Optics depends on your crew. With a poor crew, you struggle to reach good view range even with Optics, so you can just use Vents to improve gun stats. Optics is preferred once your crew is good enough, though. 53TP gun stats are already good, anyway, so Optics is generally more helpful than Vents most of the time.
Repairs and Sixth Sense should be the first skills for obvious reasons.
How to play it
The 53TP is a very versatile tank and can pick up various roles depending on the matchup. There are some general rules in each one of them, though: use your gun depression and turret when possible, try to fight tanks with lower alpha and/or DPM and don't rely on your hull armor too much.
When top tier, the 53TP's armor is actually quite scary and it can play like a true heavy tank. Unlike the rest of the line, the 53TP lacks lower plate weakspot - in fact, the lowerplate is slightly stronger than the upper plate. This means that the lower tier vehicles, especially tier 6s, are going to seriously struggle against you. In addition, your turret armor is great and while the side armor is still pretty poor, it is significantly better than on the 45TP. It is recommended to avoid sidescraping with this tank. Instead, just angle your front when fighting on corners. Your front can reach over 200 mm protection when angled a bit. Be careful, though, because overangling may leave your drivewheel exposed. The gun is absolutely brutal against lower tiers - you can 2-shot any tier 6 medium and even some heavies with a highroll. Good DPM and snapshotting capabilities further improves this trait.
Most of the time you won't be top tier, however. The frontal armor is practically worthless against many same tier vehicles and especially tier 9-10s. With this in mind, most of the time you play like a 2nd line support heavium. The 53TP has rather lacking penetration, but thankfully, it's reasonably mobile. The 53TP is just fast enough to follow mediums (not really keep up with them, but at least follow them) to be able to play like a heavium. This combined with great gun handling, good gun depression and good turret armor compensates the lacking penetration to the point where it's a significantly smaller problem than it seems like a paper. Still, the premium pen is poor enough so that you are simply helpless against many tier 10 heavies. Generally you try to avoid tanks like Type 5 Heavy at all costs.
The 53TP works best in ridgelines, where it can hide it's hull and expose it's turret that is strong enough to bounce even tier 10 standard rounds. You poke a ridge, shoot, retreat and repeat. The 53TP also has pretty good reverse speed so it can do this rather effectively. Furthermore, the gun handling means that you can snap your shot rather well, which is something the 50TP prototyp can't do very effectively. The 53TP works best against targets it can easily pen and easily outtrade with it's alpha damage, which is why it's very effective against opposing medium tanks. Not only you outtrade them, but you sometimes also out-DPM them. When fighting against heavies, the DPM is good to keep in mind. For example, you actually out-reload the IS-3, even though you have higher alpha. There are some heavies that have even higher alpha than you, but your reload is quick enough so you can easily put in a 2nd shot when they are still reloading. Keep in mind that your armor isn't very good outside from the turret and your HP pool is limited, so you have to rely on your gun to out-trade your enemies. Using heavier allies as meatshields can be very useful.
The 53TP is just fast enough to relocate when a flank is collapsing. It can even snipe when needed. However, the penetration is somewhat lacking and the accuracy, isn't perfect, so sniping isn't recommended if it isn't mandatory. While the 53TP does have MT-like attributes, it still has bad camoflage like heavies generally do. It is capable of flanking stuff, but keep in mind that the traverse speed is lacking, so circling isn't really possible most of the time.
Overall, the 53TP is a great, versatile vehicle. Tier 8 MM is harsh, but if played properly, the 53TP can hold it's own even when constantly matched against higher tier vehicles.
Overall opinion about the vehicle
First tank in the line that actually feels like a fun and competitive vehicle.
Very comfortable to play for a tier 8 heavy. You get one of the most hard hitting guns in the tier but at the same time you have good gun handling AND good DPM. The gun is extremely satisfying to use even with the rather poor penetration it has.
I feel like that in good hands this tank is actually stronger than it's premium counterpart. I do have slightly worse stats with the 53TP than the 50TP prototyp, but keep in mind that I grinded most of the 53TP like a brainless zombie during the night...so yeah :p. It's slightly harder to play because of worse armor and gun depression, but overall I would say it's a stronger vehicle. Which is great, since it somewhat confirms that WG is more or less moving away from the "slightly P2W" policy that they have had with a lot of tier 8 premiums introduced in last 2 years.
Didn't keep it because I needed credits and tier 8 MM is still tier 8 MM...but this is one of the very few non-premium tier 8s that I could consider a keeper. And trust me, there really aren't many of those these days. I simply despise the tier 8 MM. Since they offered an extra commander for this tank...maybe some day I'll rebuy this thing and 3 mark it.
Definitely a lot of fun, can recommend.
Overall rating: 8/10 (very good)
50TP Tyszkiewicza (tier IX)
Coming after the 53TP, the 50TP sits at tier 9. Oddly enough, it resembles the premium tank a lot more than the 53TP - both 50TPs have rather potato accuracy but great alpha damage and very similar armor layouts. Compared to it's premium little-brother, the 50TP trades extra gun depression at sides, great traverse speed and lower profile for being at a better tier, having a lot higher HP pool tier-for-tier and arguably having even more nasty alpha for it's tier. The 50TP is slower than the 53TP, which means it no longer can play like a heavium, making it a bit more dedicated as a trading hulldown heavy.
Protection
+ Excellent HP pool at 2000.
+ Great turret armor, can bounce even premium rounds rather well.
+ Upper plate is very heavily angled and will ricochet basically every non-HE/HESH shell in the game.
+ Lower plate is strong enough to bounce tier 7s and some tier 8 mediums.
+ Exposed tracks, which makes the tank harder to track + damage at the same time since shooting the drivewheel most of the time results in a no-damage hit.
- Driver's hatch weakspot is quite large and most tier 9 and 10s will go through it.
- Unlike rest of the line, it has two cupolas instead of one.
- Turret ring is exposed and a weakspot when angled, which makes sidescraping pretty hard. However, the turret is placed quite far in the back, which makes poking corners in return rather tricky. This combination makes the tank very awkward on corners.
- Ammorack is prone to damage.
Overall protection: 7/10 (good)
The armor layout is very similar to it's premium little brother, the 50TP prototyp. Very resilient turret and auto-ricochet upper plate coupled with weak side armor, similar weakspots (cupolas, turret ring and driver's hatch). In addition, the 50TP gets 2000 HP, which is 3rd highest of all tier 9 HTs. The hull armor is more "troll" than the 53TP, but is also more unreliable - sometimes you bounce everything, and then next game it's just useless. The turret armor is great, but it has two cupolas that are bigger than on both the 50TP prototyp and 53TP, so be careful. When gun depression is used, though, the turret armor is very effective. What holds the tank back is the turret placement combined with the turret ring weakspot, which makes using the 50TP on corners a problem. It can bait a shot with its exposed tracks, but it's rather risky since you can still get tracked + damaged as long as the angle is right.
Overall, the 50TP has holes on it's armor but the turret armor and HP pool make it rather survivable.
Firepower
+ Excellent alpha damage at 560 - 2nd highest in the tier after the Type 4's 14cm gun.
+ Good DPM, especially for it's alpha.
+ High caliber of the gun allows the tank to overmatch Swedish TDs.
+ Good gun depression (-8).
- Poor dispersion values and long aim time.
- Sub-par accuracy.
- Premium penetration is below-average, although it's better tier-for-tier than the 53TP.
Overall firepower: 7.5/10 (good)
The best feature of the gun no doubt is the gigantic alpha damage. 560 is the 2nd highest in the tier, with only the Type 4 Heavy having higher with the 14 cm gun. 560 alpha allows the 50TP to outtrade even many tier 10s, which makes it a force to be reckoned with. The penetration isn't special, but it's good enough to deal with the most targets the 50TP faces. In addition, the 50TP has pretty good DPM, having only slightly longer reload than 490 alpha heavies such as the E 75.
However, the gun isn't perfect. The gun handling is significantly worse than it's predecessor, with aim time being longer and turret bloom in especial being much worse. It also has worse accuracy, which can make the gun rather unwieldy at even mid-long distances. Furthermore, the premium penetration is still somewhat lacking, which means that the 50TP can somewhat struggle against heavily armored targets.
Fun fact - with the stock turret, the 50TP actually has significantly better bloom on turret traverse than with the top turret. Since this is only present with the 130mm gun, and as the bloom is identical to that of the stock 122 mm gun, I am fairly sure that this is an unintentional mistake. Then again, the Polish tech tree is full of suspicious things, soooo...
Overall, the 50TP has punchy, powerful gun that can be very nasty at close range, but is generally a bit derpier than earlier tanks when it comes to the accuracy and gun handling.
Mobility
+ Can reach the top speed and maintain it.
- Poor traverse speed - doesn't have the amazing traverse speed like the 50TP prototyp.
Overall mobility: 5.5/10 (below average)
The 50TP is somewhat sluggish and it's mobility is just below average for it's class. Top speed, reverse speed and power to weight ratio are among the average in it's tier. Traverse speed is pretty lacking, though. The 50TP doesn't turn very quickly like the 50TP prototyp, which means it's easier to circle and flank. It can't relocate very effectively but can at least somehow do it unlike some truly slow super-heavies. The 50TP is quite average when it comes to the mobility, except for the acceleration and traverse speed, which are just slightly below average.
Other
+ Can mount the 130 mm right away with the stock turret and tracks.
- Mediocre view range.
The stock grind is much more comfortable than the earlier vehicles. If you can save up ~60k free XP, you can get a tank that isn't that much worse than it's elited version. The stock turret is not perfect, though, as it has worse armor and the hard stats of the gun are worse (although weirdly enough, the turret bloom is BETTER). The stock gun has good combination of the stats like the 53TP, but the penetration is just awful at tier 9. Like most of the Polish tanks, the view range is below average.
Equipment, crewskills, etc.
Rammer + VStabs + Optics.
or
Rammer + VStabs + Vents.
First two are a must on any heavy tank. The 3rd option is up to preference. Unlike on the tier 8, I actually used Vents on this one, since the gun stats are noticeably worse and I felt like improving those were more useful than improving the view range. Optics is still a perfectly fine option, though. Since the aim time is 3 seconds, GLD is also a valid option.
Sixth Sense and Repairs should be the first crew skills, since the 50TP is a heavy tank. Smooth Drive + Snapshot are both very useful as the 50TP's bloom values are pretty poor compared to it's predecessor. View range skills are recommended especially if you run Optics to make sure you hit 445 m view range. Safe Storage is recommended as just like rest of the line, the 50TP suffers from ammorack issues.
How to play it
While there are still multiple ways to play the 50TP, it's bit more one-dimensional than it's predecessor. The 50TP is too slow to play like a heavium, and it cannot play mid-long ranges as well due to the worse accuracy and gun handling. With improved alpha and HP pool, the 50TP is more dedicated on the hulldown-outtrading playstyle.
That being said, if you have the 50TP prototyp and have any idea how to play it, then the 50TP should feel just fine. The 50TP is literally like it but on steroids - it has very similar strengths and weaknesses, and the general playstyle is very similar. The tank is more efficient on ridgelines, where it can use it's turret armor and -8 gun depression. You poke a ridge, blast your opponent for 560, and you retreat. You can't snapshot like the 53TP, so aim a bit longer. Once you hit, though, it really hurts. Same rules apply here - try to focus on targets with poor armor and/or lower alpha than you. Fortunately, since your alpha is so massive, you can outtrade almost anything that is not a TD. Just like with any hulldown-based tank, arty is bane to your existence, so keep note where enemy arties are after firing you.
The 50TP can work on corners as well; however, there's one glaring flaw that is also present with the 50TP prototyp: the turret placement combined with the armor layout. The turret ring seriously sticks out and it's rather obvious visually, too. It's basically impossible to hide when you sidescrape. Furthermore, both sides of the turret have a cupola, so there's no possibility of poking a side where you can hide your cupola. Because of this, the 50TP is a poor sidescraper and sidescraping should be avoided. The only case where sidescraping is recommended is when you fight tanks that can't pen your turret ring (tier 7-8s) or when you really have to bounce and then rely on your luck. On other hand, poking is tricky as well - turret is placed very far on the back. This can be especially awkward when coming from the 53TP which has the turret very far in the front. Because of this, it is best to poke when the enemy is reloading, or simply just trade with your own HP, especially if your target has significantly less alpha than you.
When top tier, the 50TP can lead the charge, since lower tiers will struggle to pen you, sometimes even from the lower plate. Other than that, though, the lower plate should be always hidden when possible. It's huge and thus fairly easy to hit.
The playstyle of the 50TP is fairly simple - it's clearly meant to trade with other tanks. It has great HP pool and huge alpha damage, with good gun depression and turret armor. It has just the right tools for this purpose.
Overall opinion about the vehicle
It's a good, capable tank.
It's my best performing tier 9. Despite that, I didn't feel like it was super-strong or anything. I think the tier 8 is stronger tier-for.tier for sure, just because I consider the whole package to be better and way more comfortable. Just like with the 50TP prototyp, I dislike the turret placement combined with the turret ring the most about the 50TP. In fact, it's even worse with the 50TP, because the turret ring is more exposed when sidescraping. The gun's derpiness was rather annoying at times as well, but it is more than reasonable considering how brutal the gun can be in the right situation.
I imagine this thing to be quite similar to the T30, just less polarized than it. Both have good alpha damage, good turret + depression but rather poor hull and derpy guns. That's the best comparison I can make, since the 50TP doesn't really play like any other tier 9 heavy. It resembles the ST-I, but in reality is completely different.
It was still fun to play overall, just not as fun as the tier 8. Tier 9 is a quite good tier when it comes to both balance and MM, though. For most players, I imagine the 50TP being more fun and easier to play than the 53TP. If you are looking for a tier 9 keeper, this thing is not a bad option. However, I didn't keep it, since I needed the crew and credits for the next vehicle...and I just felt like the next vehicle is even more worth it.
At least it's not a M103.
Overall rating: 7/10 (good)
60TP Lewandowskiego (tier X)
Crown jewel of the branch, the 60TP sits at tier 10 and is a naturally a logical continuation to the 50TP. It has a great HP pool, improved armor over it's predecessor, good gun depression values and passable but rather mediocre mobility. Most important feature however is the very meaty 152 mm gun with the highest alpha damage of all heavies in the game, tied with the E 100 and VK 72.01 K, and for such a big gun, it has surprisingly decent gun stats and DPM, which makes the gun very scary and very satisfying to use. 60TP fills the niche of hulldown-based semi-superheavy with a hard hitting, powerful gun. It can outtrade most tanks in the game, with exception of some TDs.
Protection
+ Very high HP pool at 2600; 4th highest in the game after the Maus, Type 5 Heavy and E 100.
+ UFP is very well angled and will bounce practically everything.
+ Cupola and turret ring weakspots are notably less significant than on the 50TP.
+ Very strong turret armor, will bounce most things and it has very large areas that are immune to even JP E100 HEAT shells.
+ LFP, while weak, is small and not particularly easy to hit.
- LFP is very weak, 183 HESH can pen it and even tier 8s can pen it.
- While better than predecessors, the side armor is still weak. Overangling the tank easily results in penetration.
- Retains the drivers hatch, cupola and turret ring weakspot from the 50TP, although they are significantly smaller and/or stronger.
- Turret has very small holes which means 60TP's turret may sometimes (although rarely) get randomly penned even when hulldown.
- Ammorack is prone to damage.
Overall protection: 7.5/10 (good)
60TP is bulky and can survive for rather long. HP pool is excellent, which allows the 60TP to take hits even when it cannot use it's armor very effectively. UFP is strong and will bounce basically anything, which punishes poorly aimed shots. LFP is weak, but it's relatively small so it's hard to hit at long ranges. 60TP "can" sidescrape, but there are areas on the sides that can be penned with HEAT shells. Because of this, sidescraping should be done only when necessary (and that is when you have to bait a shot by yourself and you can't hulldown). Generally you can just poke and trade, especially against tanks with lower alpha. 750 alpha gun gives the tank fear factor which means that the enemy may panic and miss your weakspots when you decide to poke. Hulldown position is where the 60TP is the best. Turret does have some small holes, but overall the turret is very strong especially at long ranges. Despite the excellent turret, the 60TP is not as good at facehugging as it would initially seem like, as the 60TP has a driver's hatch and cupola weakspots. Facehugging is still recommended when you have no better options, though.
Overall, the 60TP has a fair amount of weakspots and rather poor side armor. However, because of the great HP pool and turret armor, it's overall durability is no doubt respectable and it can survive for quite long. The armor layout rewards good positioning and somewhat intelligent play...which is something as many armored heavies these days have very braindead layouts.
Firepower
+ Amazing alpha damage at 750, tied with E 100 and VK 72.01 K for the highest alpha of all heavies in the game (not counting HE).
+ Good turret bloom values, especially for a gun with gigantic alpha.
+ Relatively good accuracy and shell velocity for it's alpha.
+ Surprisingly decent DPM considering the alpha.
+ Great HE shells with good penetration (90mm) that allows the gun to function as a pseudo-derp when needed.
+ Very large caliber allows the 60TP to overmatch 50mm thick plates - this includes significant stuff such as big chunk of UFP of the Strv 103B.
+ Good gun depression and elevation.
- Mediocre AP pen and poor HEAT pen.
- While the DPM is rather decent, the reload is still pretty long. Bouncing or missing a shot can hurt a lot.
- Rather long aim time, although good bloom values somewhat compensate it.
- While the accuracy is reasonably good, it's not perfect and coupled with mediocre penetration, the gun can be somewhat wonky at very long ranges.
Overall firepower: 8 / 10 (very good)
This gun is just very powerful and no doubt the strongest feature of the tank. 750 alpha alone is a very strong tool on a heavy tank - 60TP can easily outtrade any medium and almost any heavy tank in the game, and even some TDs. One would expect other stats of the gun to be poor because of that - but that's not the case. 60TP also has good gun handling, relatively decent accuracy, velocity and even the DPM is relatively decent for gigantic alpha. The 60TP also gets really solid HE shells with relatively good penetration. They are strong enough to do a decent chunk of damage with non-penetrating hits, which allows the 60TP to function as pseudo-derp tank. Generally a well-aimed AP/HEAT shell is more rewarding than HE. However, HE shells can be especially useful in some matchups with a lot of heavy armor and long-ranged frontal engagement, such as Karelia.
The only somewhat major downside of the gun is the lacking penetration, more specifically the HEAT penetration. This can make the gun somewhat let-down in head-on fights against other heavily armored heavies. HEAT shells may bounce from stuff like slightly angled E 100's turret and IS-7's angled upper plate, which are most of the time penetrated quite reliably by 330/340 HEAT. Among with that, the aim time is rather long, but it generally isn't an issue considering the good bloom, accuracy and gigantic alpha damage. While the reload isn't particularly bad for it's alpha, it's still long enough that misses or bounces can be relatively frustrating.
Whenever the 60TP doesn't have to deal with super-heavies, the gun is just fantastic. It can be frustrating sometimes because of the lacking HEAT shell and long reload (missing our bouncing can be painful). Most of the time, though, the gun is pretty satisfying to use and is what makes the 60TP fun to play.
Mobility
+ Better mobility than majority of the other heavies with this kind of HP pool.
+ Can reach the top speed and maintain it.
- Rather poor terrain resists.
- Poor traverse speed.
Overall mobility: 5.5/10 (below average)
Just like the 50TP, the 60TP is somewhat sluggish and it's mobility is just below average for it's class. Top speed and reverse speed are among the average of tier 10 HTs, as well as engine power. Traverse speed and terrain resists are pretty mediocre, though, so the 60TP feels overall quite sluggish but at least it's not dreadfully slow like true super-heavies. It can't relocate very effectively but can at least somehow do it unlike some very slow tanks like the Maus. Basically, the 60TP is a heavy tank and when it comes to mobility, it certainly feels like one.
Other
+ Like most of the tier 10s, doesn't have a stock grind.
- Inferior view range than most tier 10s, which means that it's harder to reach 445m view range without Optics.
Unlike the E 100, the 60TP doesn't have a stock grind, so you get the 750 alpha gun right away. View range is worse than most tier 10s, which means that running Optics is generally recommended (the 60TP doesn't have major issues with accuracy, DPM or gun handling, anyway).
Equipment, crewskills, etc.
Rammer + VStabs + Optics.
or
Rammer + VStabs + Vents.
First two are mandatory on any heavy tank. I prefer Optics since it's hard to reach max view range with Vents, and the 60TP doesn't have big issues with the accuracy, gun handling and DPM, anyway. The 60TP is a hulldown tank, so having a good view range can be particularly helpful. Vents is still a viable option at the 3rd slot if you don't care about view range, though, as all around boost is still nice. Since the aim time is rather long, GLD is also a viable option since the aim time is rather long but the gun handling itself is decent so GLD is overall inferior to Optics or Vents.
Sixth Sense and Repairs are mandatory and should be prioritized over other skills. Safe Storage is recommended due to ammorack issues. View range skills are helpful, as the 60TP has below average view range. Smooth Drive, Snapshot and BiA are useful to maximize the gun performance. Since the 60TP has very big gun which means great module damage, running Deadeye could be considered to increase the chances of cheesy ammoracks, but not before more useful skills (basically anything mentioned before) are applied first.
60TP burns very rarely so running food consumable is a valid, rather low-risk option, as long as you can afford it.
Since the HE is rather strong and can be helpful in some scenarios, I recommend to load a couple of HE shells. The ammo capacity is much lower than that of the E 100, but the 60TP still won't run out of shells very quickly. I personally run 6 HE shells, although running 4-5 is still reasonable if you're really afraid that you run out of the AP and HEAT shells. However, I recommend to load at least 4 of them.
How to play it
Playstyle is generally pretty similar to the tier 8 premium and tier 9 - a rather versatile, bulky ridgeline heavy with great alpha. Just like with the 50TP, playing the 60TP isn't all that complicated.
60TP works best at ridgelines. Just expose your strong turret and use your gun depression. Turret has some (albeit very small) weakspots, but the turret is very hard to go through when the 60TP is in hulldown position. Be careful with arty, though - 60TP doesn't take arty hits very well. Because on hulldown fights engagements are typically a bit longer, it is recommended to fully aim your shots whenever it is possible. You want to make your shots count, because your reload is long. 60TP has pretty strong HE shells, which means that it can directly take on other hulldown tanks such as Super Conqueror. Most hulldown tanks have much smaller guns which means much weaker HE shells, so a HE spamming 60TP will easily outtrade any other hulldown tank and eventually force it out of it's position.
While the 60TP works best at ridgelines, it also can fight on corners rather effectively. It can sidescrape, better than most other Polish vehicles. However, it still has an exposed turret ring that gets rather easily penned by premium rounds. Because of this, sidescrape only when you're alone, you have to bait a shot and you don't want to lose your HP. Generally it's better just to poke from corners. If you have allied heavies with you, let them take hits if possible. When they are not focusing you or they are reloading - poke, slam them for 750, retreat and reload. After you have done this a few times, then you can simply just use your own big HP pool and just start trading. Your gun gives rather significant fear factor - a 60TP that suddenly comes out from corner will most likely cause panic on the enemy, which may make them miss. Nobody wants to take a hit from a 152 mm gun.
You generally want to focus on targets with poor armor since the penetration is rather lackluster on the 60TP. The caliber of the gun is massive, which allows you to overmatch any armor plate that is up to 50 mm thick. This includes rather significant stuff such as the upper plate (except track links) of the 103B, sides of the Object 257, turret roofs of the opposing 60TPs, and sides of certain US designs such as T110EX-series. The poor HEAT penetration means that the gun somewhat struggles against super-heavies, especially when not at close range. 750 alpha + great HP pools means that you can still out-trade Type 5s like the E 100 can, though. However, E 100 has notably better HEAT, more HP and it takes slightly less HE damage, which means that fighting Types is a bit more challenging with the 60TP. Going to flanks where encountering a super-heavy is less likely is a viable option is harsh match-ups. Keep in mind that the 60TP is rather slow, so relocating can be tricky and crossing open areas is rather risky.
When top tier, the gun is even more brutal - it deals more than 50% HP damage against most tier 8s, and the 60TP won't have issues with penetrating them either. HE shells are hilarious when top tier since they can oneshot some tier 8 LTs and TDs. Keep in mind that LFP is pennable even by tier 8s, however. Because of this, you can't brainlessly yolo them as easily as many other heavily armored tier 10 HTs. One thing to note is that the 60TP is not very heavy and it's not very fast, which makes it surprisingly disappointing at ramming. 60TP is still very powerful when top tier, just because of the brutal gun and great HP pool.
Overall, the 60TP is a versatile tank, especially when you consider it's rather sluggish mobility. It can play both on ridgelines and corners. It can be a frontline tank, but it also can work very well as 2nd-line support vehicle. It has a couple of cool tools such as surprisingly good accuracy and good HE shells, which further improves the overall flexibility of the 60TP.
Overall opinion about the vehicle
I f*cking love it. That's all.
I didn't have high expectations for the Polish branch when it was announced. My interest started to go up a bit when they made the first video about the Polish tech tree. I got truly hyped when the tier 10 was revealed. Something about both the stats and design of the tank was something that made me immediately hyped. I like silly, goofy heavies with bigass guns and I also like to have good gun depression. Not to mention the design is just 10/10 - it looks both awesome and retarded. Oh and it even can meme around with the HE. Absolute perfection.
And then test server came - I wasn't disappointed. I played more than 100 games with the 60TP on test server, and I knew I had to have it as soon as possible on live server. That is exactly why I decided to powergrind this line so badly to the point I even grinded most of the tier 8 during last Friday night like a brainless zombie. Without the 60TP, I most likely wouldn't have grinded the line this quickly. I probably wouldn't have written this review, either.
I find the tank very fun to play and I could just keep playing it forever. Well...that's what I've been doing past few days - I don't think I have touched any other tank outside from platooning . Of course, it can still bring frustration, because of long reload, armor layout, low penetration and ammorack issues. However, it is overall a lot of fun to me. It brings my weird satisfaction of playing a slow, goofy, armored heavy, yet it's surprisingly versatile and consistent. I've been looking for a fun go-to tank to play for quite a while now. O-Ho used to be my favorite go-to fun tank for a long while, but the tier 8 MM is too harsh to the point it's not fun to play anymore unless it's 3x O-Ho platoon or something. I think I finally found a new go-to vehicle to play with. I even slapped a Improved Rammer and Improved VStabs on it.
It's a great tank. It's probably not very good in CW, because it's slow and has weak premium penetration, but if you are looking for a good pubstomper with a bigass gun, the 60TP is a great pick. The way to the 60TP is long and harsh - you have generic and/or crappy lowtiers, almost unplayable stock grinds at the tier 4 and 5, one of the worst tier 6s in the game and tier 8 stock grind that is pretty harsh and also ridiculously long - but it's worth it. For me, it's more than worth it. I would like to give it a higher rating, but I try to be as unbiased as possible. Even then, I think it's definitely a great, strong vehicle.
One of my favorite tanks in the game for sure. I absolutely adore it.
Overall rating: 8/10 (very good)
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Is the line worth it?
It's a long and harsh grind. Lowtiers are between mediocre and terrible, tier 4-5 are practically unplayable when stock, tier 6 is beyond awful, tier 7 is not very good + frustrating to play, and the tier 8 has abysmal and long stock grind. The grind is certainly one of the worst in the entire game. That being said, the tier 8 and 10, when fully upgraded, are powerhouses and great fun. The tier 9 is also a capable, competitive vehicle. But are they worth the harsh grind?
Yes...
if you really like B I G G U N S
if you really like the hulldown playstyle
if you really like heavies in general and don't mind if your tanks are not amazingly mobile
or if you just happen to really like/want Polish tanks for some reason
If any of the points above are true, then yeah, it's worth it. I, personally, like big guns, hulldown playstyle and don't mind the speed at all, so the line was absolutely worth it for me.
If you have free XP and want to use it on some line, this line is a pretty strong candidate for that. Terrible stock grinds AND some stinkers at low-mid tiers. This line is a great pick if you want to burn some of your free XP on something.
If we go solely from the tier 10, the 60TP is a great, fun vehicle. I can't see it being very useful in competitive formats, but in randoms, it's a great pubstomper. If you're looking for a fun tier 10, the 60TP is a good pick.
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TL;DR:
lowtiers are skippable
stock grinds suck
tier 5 is meh, a fast Chi-Nu with even worse gun handling
tier 6 is a giant piece of sh*t, skip with free XP if possible
tier 7 is mediocre
tier 9 is good
tier 8 and 10 are great
CAN WG STOP MAKING DEDICATED FREE XP PITS REEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
o kurwa
i like crayons
That's all folks!.

Dont see a thread for this thing, so here you go!
I actually liked the IS-M, and powergrinded it to get this...thing unlocked and bought today. Its...weird:
- 2k HP is nice
- the armor is...wonky, but when positioned right, its immensely powerful. Got 9k blocked game on my 3rd battle :^). Its bit like Kranvagn except sidescraper version of it, but the armor can bounce something outside of its perfect position, unlike Kran lol
- guns are...autistic as hell. 122 has very nice APCR velocity and good DPM with nice alpha and overmatch ability, but the HEAT sucks, its derpy and the APCR can feel powerless in terms of penetration. 130 mm is...autistic as hell. Nice alpha goes well with the HP pool, but 0.44 base accuracy is haHAA. Also its keks to roll for 370, and when your asking yourself ”why this gun exists”, you roll for 607 with the next shot...
- its slow, but I dont mind that, also the speed is fairly solid when downhill
Anybody else played this?

Literally the only tier 8 that is a keeper to me (other than O-Ho for obvious reasons and even then it's just for nostalgia and potential 3x platoon memes, I don't play it solo at all anymore). Let that sink in.

As long as MM changes are actually meaningful, then yes, but if the 3-5-7 stays like it is, then nah.
Even then, I doubt it will be as good as it was in 2015, since IS-6s arent everywhere (and they can actually kinda pen you with prem now), base pen has gone up significantly, CDCs are dead, and while prem ammo will have less damage its negated by fact that it will be shot much more than back in 2015 when people didnt fire gold nearly as much as now (it wasnt as easy to make credits with lack of personal reserves and no bonuses like christmas bonus now).
It will be better but it won't be god mode, not even close.

The article never mentioned it being a premium, and this thing from what I recall has been the tier 8 MT on Swedish tech tree proposals, as well as it being quite similar to the Leo, so...
I am smelling tier 8-10 Swedish MTs incoming.

Nah, 268 at least has improved gun arc and shell velocity unlike in the past, so it can at least be considered as an "upgrade" now. It's still a weak upgrade but it would still be better than the 704 if they were put into same tiers.
Before the 9.20 buffs the 268 was literally a sidegrade, though, so it's more or less the closest thing we will get to "downgraded tier 10".
Some could argue that T92 is a downgrade from M53 but 1. its an arty so who cares 2. T92 is almost as different from M53 as far as differences between arties can go, basically

Just pointing out, isn't the armor values on Tanks.gg bugged like hell? LFP is absolutely not that weak, from my experience on fighting against those, I'm almost certain it's Pz VII levels, and the side weakspot seems to be still there. Not to mention those 0 armor track links on the turret, lul
IIRC the armor layout is similar to Pz VII except the mantlet holes are somewhat fixed. Correct me if I am wrong. The armor is strong regardless, though

There's already a topic for tonk, btw
I dont play CW but I doubt it will have any viability there. If it had -10 depression I could see it being a high alpha alternative to Squonk but other that, nah. Its great in pubs tho

Maybe sixth sense isnt as important (Id still take it personally), but I still think repairs are way more useful than extremely marginal gun handling improvements. Jap heavies actually have pretty good bloom, but long aim time and awful base accuracy. Gun handling skills doesnt boost aim time and accuracy, so they are even less useful.
Repairs are important on all tiers. Like, without repairs, risk of getting permatracked is way higher. Also, just imagine all the games with more than one arty: imagine burning your repair kit, and then getting bombed by arties and tracked. +10 sec repair time with stun, so much fun. You could even get permatracked by arties, thats even worse.
With good repair crew you dont have to necessarily burn your repair kit right away, since it takes only 5-6 sec to repair instead of +10 seconds, so you can save it in case you get tracked in worse situation few seconds later.
Repairs are not gonna make your tank massively better... but think about it: How often do you miss a shot just because you didnt have those super marginal improvements of handling skills? And better yet, how often you actually get screwed ovee because of it? I personally dont feel even any difference by boosting turning and turret traverse bloom by less than 0.01, so I take those skills only after repairs and BiA.
I still heavily recommend repairs. In fact, IMO repairs are better st higher tiers, not less useful. Its so much easier to destroy tracks with one shell at higher tiers than at lower tiers, not to mention people are way more likely to actually track you, and arties having bigger splash contributes, too (sure low-midtier arties have better RoF, but they most likely need to directly hit to track you). I would take BiA right when you hit 2nd skill, if you really dont care about SS, though (I still recommend it).

I recommend not to use HEAT, its pointless IMO
The pen is too shitty for a gun like that. AP has worse pen yea but with normalization it isnt that much worse, and anything HEAT can pen, AP can as well. Not to mention the best thing about AP is overmatch ability, which the HEAT lacks. You can overmatch 49mm armor and below, which is huge for its tier. Tanks like T-34-85 and Cromwell are autopen for AP pmuch since sides get overmatched and front is weak when not angled. Not to mention AP is much cheaper
It can be better than AP for some niche targets, but thats about it. O-Ho's much faster reload and better handling means that HEAT is slightly more useful there than on O-I, but even then AP is superior. I dont remember ever loading HEAT with O-I lul.
You should spam HE most of the time, tho. Both AP and HEAT are basically gamble. I load AP only when top tier.
Shitty crew may contribute as well. You dont need good crew, but not having full repairs and SS sucks ass for the O-I. You want at least those.
Food obviously helps. It can burn but not too often. Fuel tanks are on the upper-side-rear section (how you even call that lul).
Also you really shouldnt rely on your armor. Just dont. Its there as an extra if anything, really. Play it like KV-2 that has extra armor as bonus to shit on tanks with sub 160 pen.
EDIT: Saw your crew, and I can see it being contributor to yiur results lul. You WANT to have repairs first. Significantly more useful than any of the other skills you picked and should be number one priority with any armored heavy, especially a tank like O-I. Obviously you want sixth sense on commander, but I vastly recommend to retrain everyone else to get repairs. Its worth it. And when one of the loaders gets too 100%, get safe storage. Jap heavies have severe ammorack issues. Lastly, situational awareness doesnt stack, so you having two of them on two radiomen is literally a waste.

>I dont have the top gun yet
Thats the issue.
O-I's armor isnt godlike considering the MM and gold spam, but its still there to completely shit on tier 4-5 and some 6s who refuse to fire gold. Thing is, derp does the same trick as the KV-2 does. It has slightly worse reload (irrelevant tbh) and a bit worse HE pen, but better handling and accuracy so the derp isnt even worse. Its much bigger (tho KV-2 is already big) and slightly slower but in return the worst trait of the KV-2, the abysmal view range, is completely fixed.
So all in all its almost as good as the KV-2... and then it gets immunity against anything with sub 160mm gold pen. Thats why the tank is still dumb as hell; its just not even close as good as it used to be. All the earlier comments were posted when the MM was better and when it still had 150mm ass armor, hence. 10cm O-I is actually bad now, whereas the tank used to be OP even with that gun like 2.5 years ago.
Just play it like KV-2 with some extras in some situations.

I already did a full line review, but figured that this thing itself deserves its own topic.
I adore this thing. Looks gorgeous yet so autistic. I also love big guns and this has a really big gun, with better accuracy and velocity than E 100. This on a tank that is rather compact for something with 2600 HP and then it has great turret with -8 dep. The only issues are the shitty HEAT pen and crap hull, but bloody hell is it fun. :^)
One of my new favorite tanks in the game and my go-to tank when I’m bored or having a bad session.
Anyone who didn’t slit their wrists with the 40TP, how do you like this thing so far?

On mobile as well:
T-10: 35 + 1 = 36. Fun to play and a great tank, one of the few tier 9s I kept
Object 430 V2: 15 - 3 = 12. Yeah, its probably one of the only very few tier 9s that you can say it’s objectively just terrible. Should go out first, no doubt
Also @Assassin7 starting points should be 20 IMO, not 30. Back 2 year ago the original elimination threads by Rexxie had 20 starting points, and lets not also forget that Wotlabs was less ded back then, not to mention it still took a good while. None of the tanks are below 10 yet anyway so you could still very well do it

Late reply but the armor layout and guns are very different. ST-I is the closest thing when it comes to tier 9 HTs to the 50TP but even then the gun and armor differences make the playstyles different. 50TP has much better gun, ST-I has better armor, especially on the side which is literally more than 50% better.